The present invention relates to a PCMCIA connector, and more particularly to a stand-off of a PCMCIA connector which is versatile in mounting the connector with respect to a mother board.
As notebook computers become further developed, an increasing number of electrical cards are used to expand the memory of the computer, increase input/output functions and enhance the capabilities of the internal hardware. Thus electrical card connectors are necessary for interfacing between the computer and the electrical cards. Most electrical card connectors are designed to be in line with the standards set forth the by PCMCIA. At present, no set conditions exist for positioning the electrical card connector on a mother board of the computer.
To prevent inclination of the electrical card connector with respect to the mother board, stand-offs are commonly used such as those disclosed in Taiwan patent application Nos. 82211048, 83208932, 86210606, and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,275,573; 5,451,168; 5,490,791 and 5,591,047. With reference to FIG. 1 of the attached drawings, a PCMCIA connector 6 includes a shell 60 defining slots 62 therethrough and a stand-off 61. A pair of channeled protrusions 63 inwardly extends toward each other from upper and lower sides thereof. The protrusions 63 are retained in the corresponding slots 62 of the shell 60. A lower portion 64 of the stand-off 61 is outwardly bent and a screw-hole 65 is defined therethrough.
Referring to FIG. 2, a card connector 7 includes a stand-off 8 forming a cylindrical lower portion 82, an upper portion 81 of reduced diameter, and a screw-hole 83 defined therethrough. An engaging screw-hole 71 is defined in the connector 7 for interferentially receiving the upper portion 81. The stand-off bolt 8 is attached to a mother board by means of a bolt/nut assembly.
Referring to FIG. 3, a stand-off (a) attaches a shell (b) to a mother board (c) of a computer. The stand-off for the electrical card connector is only attached to the mother board, thus the stand-off cannot reduce the overall height of the connector and space conservation is not promoted. Furthermore, the conventional stand-off for an electrical card connector is a single element serving only one function. Thus, other necessary functional portions must be attached to the card connector thereby further increasing the space occupied by the connector.
An object of the invention is to provide a stand-off for attaching an electrical card connector at a predetermined vertical position with respect to a mother board thereby reducing the overall space occupied by the card connector within the computer.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a stand-off attached to an electrical card connector, wherein a channel is defined therebetween for receiving a push bar of a card ejection mechanism thereby promoting an efficient utilization of space.